Green Space: Innovation hardly dead for gardening products

Friday

Each season, “amazing” gardening gear hits the market. Some of the stuff is actually useful.

Each season, “amazing” gardening gear hits the market. Some of the stuff is actually useful. That is our target today.

Japanese-style gardening knives are taking off. (I wrote about them in December.) They dig, they weed, they plant and they fend off rogue rodents. I bought an Oxo and cannot keep my hands off it. It comes with a sheath and is rated five stars on websites.

Oxo retails at $40 but is available online for $30. The Grow Tech with a wooden handle is $20.

Kneeling pads are crucial to our sanity. Older folks need comfort in the knees. Youngers need a way to avoid the dirt and mud.

Enter the Gloves and Gear large kneeling pad. They are indestructible PVC foam with a handle at $12.70. Fiskars makes a smaller version for $10. I use mine for more than gardening, including car repairs and painting.

In power tools, I like stuff that does more than one job. A number of makers are rolling out power tree trimmers, basically chain saws on telescoping poles. I watched a pro using one and must have it.

The neat models allow you to detach the pole and use the machine as a regular chain saw. That’s two useful items in one for less than $100 for the electric and a little more for battery and gas models.

I like buckets for carrying plants and collecting weeds and garden trash. Toro has improved on that with its 43-gallon bucket for $27. It’s made of plastic canvas and collapses to three inches for easy storage. Fiskars makes a 30-gallon model for $24.

If you’re tired of incessant trips to the garage to get tools, take all of them in a garden cart. The Suncast has interchangeable shelves at $77. It stores about 20 tools in holes on top, eight with long handles.

Itching for a greenhouse but have no space? The Gardman Mini Greenhouse may be for you. It’s a five-foot metal frame with four shelves, perfect for patio or deck. It comes with a removable clear plastic cover with front zipper and a fleece cover for cold nights. At $43, it will extend your gardening season well into early late spring.

All these are available at Amazon.com, or look for them in your local gardening center.

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